Cobra Gunship
In Cobra Gunship, you take the stick of a lone attack chopper deployed over hostile oil fields to single-handedly dismantle a rogue mercenary army.
Ground targets turn early missions into a slow grind
The game drops you right into the cockpit with a side-scrolling view of desert installations and enemy armor. You control the chopper using the keyboard or mouse, keeping a thumb on the spacebar for your primary gun, pressing D to drop secondary ordinance, and tapping E to swing the airframe around. The goal in these early stages sounds simple enough: hover over defensive lines, eliminate ground forces, and pave the way for ground troops.
The problem is how sluggish these initial runs feel. Your starting weapons lack punch, and target selection requires precise placement while fighting your own momentum. Games Domain noted in its review that early missions suffer from a lack of genuine excitement, and that assessment holds up. Taking out line after line of static jeeps and tanks feels more like working a shift than flying an elite strike aircraft.
Managing team deployment and hardware upgrades saves the late game
Once you survive the initial drag, the semi-nonlinear mission tree opens up. You earn cash for every confirmed kill and completed assignment, which you then pump straight back into your chopper. Buying weapon powerups, extra ammo, and system upgrades transforms your fragile bird into a terrifying war machine. The combat loop begins to mirror side-scrolling classics like Choplifter or Armor Alley, where managing resources is just as important as aiming straight.
The tactical layer gets much deeper when your specialized crew enters the field. Your communications expert delivers real-time updates from headquarters, while your explosives team handles actual demolition duty on target sites. Deploying saboteurs onto enemy installations creates a frantic rhythm. You must clear a drop zone, deposit your bomb technicians, protect them from incoming enemy helicopters and half-tracks, and extract them before the entire compound goes sky-high.
- Earn cash by destroying enemy armor, radar sites, and supply depots.
- Purchase heavy weaponry, armor plating, and flight control upgrades between sorties.
- Drop explosives experts directly onto key installations to blow them from the inside.
- Maintain air superiority against hostile fighters and interceptor choppers.
High-resolution sprites keep the battlefield clear
Developer Elysium Digital, L.L.C. opted for high-resolution, pre-rendered 2D graphics rather than trying to force early 3D polygons on low-end hardware. The choice paid off. The rendered vehicles and structures pop clearly against the desert terrain, making it easy to distinguish friendly troops from enemy anti-air units. The audio punches through nicely on a standard Sound Blaster setup, filling your speakers with heavy gunfire and mechanical explosions.
The full registered version features 30 distinct missions, giving you plenty of territory to reclaim across North Africa and the Middle East. While Elysium Digital vanished shortly after completing this title, they left behind a solid arcade shooter. If you enjoy classic PC action games from 1997, this operational grid offers plenty of tactical meat to chew on.
Play Cobra Gunship free in your browser right now
If you want to pilot this attack chopper today, you can play Cobra Gunship online without setting up extra software or tweaking old config files. The game runs straight in your browser window with full mouse and key-binding support ready from the first frame. Get past those first few target-practice runs, earn some contract cash, and see how satisfying it feels when your fully upgraded gunship finally clears the sky.